Joint health is an often-overlooked aspect of sports nutrition but an essential type of supplement worthy of including in your monthly stack. There are now several well-formulated joint support products on the market, specifically catered to hard-training athletes and individuals.
Boswellia serrata extract is a reliably effective joint health ingredient and a long-standing favorite for brands. The tree itself grows in the dry mountainous regions of India, Northern Africa, and the Middle East, and its resin is loaded with bioactives. The most well-known of those is boswellic acids, which have been used to treat inflammatory diseases.
ApresFlex is a clinically-backed extract of boswellia serrata, from PLT Health Solutions, the same company behind many other regularly seen premium ingredients like Zynamite, Zembrin, and RipFactor. Compared to generic boswellia extracts, which may not list a standardization, ApresFlex is standardized to 20% 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid.
A new clinical study was recently published in the Journal of the American Nutrition Association, finding significant improvements in pain scores after just a few days of use. Seventy individuals with knee osteoarthritis participated in the trial and were randomized to either receive a placebo or 100mg of ApresFlex boswellia serrata extract daily for 30 days.
Researchers collected data on a host of metrics, including WOMAC pain and physical function measurements. WOMAC (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index) is one of the premier assessments used in assessing pain, stiffness, and function in individuals with osteoarthritis.
Several other notable inflammatory and cartilage biomarkers were also documented, including c-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), and MMP-3. FYI, the expression of MMP-3 protein is closely related to the cause of osteoarthritis. Sixty-five individuals completed the trial, and researchers noted that ApresFlex provided pain-relief benefits beginning just five days after starting supplementation.
At the end of the 30-day study, significant reductions were also noted in joint stiffness as well as circulating levels of CRP, T (TNFα), and MMP-3. Individuals receiving ApresFlex also experienced pronounced improvements in joint mobility and function. This is the third double-blind, placebo-controlled study investigating AprèsFlex and the second study to confirm significant improvements in joint comfort after only five days.
As mentioned, there are many reliable and effective joint support supplements on the market, some simple and straightforward, and some for more advanced, hard-working gym goers. The premium and clearly proven ApresFlex can be found in a few of your more complex products, including Legion’s Fortify, the Guerilla Chemist’s Chemix Joint, and AML’s Joint Cocktail.
